Love First Step is to Surrender

14 pax plus 7 FNGs showed up for the third Q at The Shinning.  To start we fellow-shipped and gave our orders to our most gracious host.

This is what transpired:

COP

Chatter and Fellowship as food orders were taken.

Reading of Romans 8:17 – Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his suffering in order that we may also share in His glory.

 

A Daily Prayer:

• God, I offer myself again to you. You are in charge. I am your agent. Whatever you have in store for me, let me accept it and do with it as you would have me do. Your will be done, not mine. Please use me to be a help to another suffering sinner today.

After the prayer we moved into our main workout which today was again a Headliner.

THANG

Headliner of the day – Learning to Love part 1

Review of last week’s lesson on Love –

• Is Love important?  YES
• How important is Love? #1
• Why is Love important? It is the oxygen of our spirit.
• To start YHC Read: 1 Corinthians 13:1-10 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+13%3A1-8&version=NIV
• If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
• 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.

The pax then tore into the first three descriptors of love:

• Love is patient
• Define Patience
• Example of a seeing someone being patient
• Example of witnessing someone being patient to them

• Love is kind
• Define Kindness
• Example of a seeing someone being kind
• Example of witnessing someone being kind to them

• Love does not envy
• Define envy
• Example of a seeing someone not being envious / sharing in the success of others
• Example of witnessing someone not being envious to them

NMS

The Pax started arriving at The Shinning at around 6:20.  Chatter again was high and able body men rolled in with casual observance of the time.  6:30 came and the chatter continued as we take the first 10 minutes to engage and fellowship as our gracious server starts to take our orders.  10 minutes into the fellowship time YHC stood up and once again let everyone know that he was not a pastor, or gone to seminary nor has he been an ordained, and that this is a you versus you bible study.  YHC then continued with warming us spiritually with the reading of this week’s verse from Wild Thing’s Focus Prayer Book.  YHC then prayed to get things really started.

With a little warmup the YHC reminded everyone what we covered last week.  Emoji shared that his first to get this right is to surrender.  Truth was spoken. Next the pax continued into the meat of their Love “Headliner” workout.

This week’s headliner dived into the elements of Love.  Taking 10 minutes for each element, we tackled 3 before we continued the great naming…  After discussing I Cor. 12 that setup the “love” chapter YHC read the first 8 verses of the Love chapter.  Then we starting digging deeper into each ot the elements of love. Discussion started slow, but then began in earnest.

Patience was defined  as being interested when you aren’t and also as moving at someone else’s speed (slowing down or speeding up as necessary). Wild Thing read the official definition – being able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.  After discussing the definition YHC asked for live examples in people lives as seeing and experience patience.  Care was mentioned as one who has shown a great amount of patience. Emoji talked about his parents showing him patience (after he wrecked the car at 12 years old) and changing his whole mindset. That pax saw how impactful love through patience can be.

Kindness was next up.  Lots of great definitions where thrown around at the Pax got to a feverish pitch. Some were – Giving of time and effort / doing something positive / using your energy in an unexpected manner to build someone up at a cost  / lending your strength to others.  Once again after this discussion the YHC asked for live examples of seeing and experiencing kindness.  More examples and experiences where shared and the Pax was again moved.

Does not envy was the last we had time for this Thursday morning at The Shinning.  Definitions included wanting something you don’t have. Being a negative attribute we looked at the opposite and came up with rejoicing in the success of others.  YHC told the story of teammates celebrating for one of them getting their Olympic trial cut.  The Pax talked about how this is against everything we see on TV. Wild Thing talked about how he is praying for his co-workers success and that has helped, but it is still not natural.

Lots of great sharing and challenges where made today.  The Pax was challenged to take one of these elements and be committed to being intentional with it and show patience/kindness/rejoice in someone’s success.  What do you choice?

Announcements:

• F3 tomorrow AM at “The Creek” – New Highland Baptist church – Spit will have the Q and part 2 of the Reindeer Games.
• 4/1/2017 – Iron Sharpens Iron – – – F3 style!
• Order your Focus Prayer Books by paying Abacus $20 and going to this link and filling out the form – – – http://www.paracleteanswers.com/material.html
• Nathan (a 11 yr old grandson of Postal who has a bone infection) is doing much better